After her passing, my grandmother passed down a little carved wooden chest to her oldest granddaughter. During COVID, I contacted my cousin who inherited this chest and got the complete story from her. I have, of course, added it as a Memory on FamilySearch. Here is a summary:
Grandmother’s father delivered mail by horse and buggy from 1906 to 1918 in Coon Valley, Wisconsin. One day he helped a worn out traveling salesman by inviting him to his home for a warm meal and a place to sleep for the night.
Several years later, this salesman returned and somehow found the family, now living on a different farm miles away. He gave my grandmother a small carved chest he had made out of old cigar boxes and lined with pink fabric. She hardly had time to say “thank you” before he was gone again.
Grandmother’s handwritten account of this story ends with: “How wonderful a place this world would be if we would all take a lesson from this and show such gratitude and appreciation for kindnesses done for us. So take a lesson from this my granddaughter, be kind to others and never forget to be grateful in return for a kindness shown you.”
I love this story and its importance to my grandmother. She thought so much of this event that she treasured the carved chest and wrote it’s story and passed both on to her oldest granddaughter after her death. The story is now preserved in FamilySearch for future generations, as well. Because she shared this one story, I’ve been able to discover an interesting link to my own adopted granddaughter.
While researching my adopted granddaughter’s ancestors, I discovered that her 3rd Great Grandfather was a mail carrier in Westby, Wisconsin from 1904 to 1920. Westby and Coon Valley are neighboring villages and since their time as mail carriers overlapped, I’m sure these two men would have known each other! Continuing to trace her line back into Norway, I discovered that these 2 mailmen were also 6th cousins, with common roots in the Gudbrand Valley in Norway.
I like to imagine these mailmen Grandfathers being involved in orchestrating my granddaughter’s adoption into a loving home with “family.”
Note: I was able to identify relationships using the tool, “Relative Finder,” found online at the BYU Family History Technology Lab. This tool lets you see how you are related to anyone in Family Tree, but a little known option lets you find the relationship between ANY two people. Go to “Connect,” then select “Two Deceased People.” Please note that the 2 people you choose can actually be either living or deceased.
-Julie Lofgreen, Consultant, Granite Family History Center